Iraqi president says Sunnis get more representation on constitution

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Jun 9, 2005 | by Paul Garwood Associated Press

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- More Sunni Muslim Arabs will be appointed to join elected lawmakers in drafting Iraq's new constitution, President Jalal Talabani said Thursday, a day after the Sunnis threatened to boycott the process.

Meanwhile, 19 security guards for a North Carolina-based company were detained for three days in a military jail by U.S. Marines following an alleged shooting spree May 28, and some of the contractors complained they were abused while in custody.

The Sunnis, who complained about their lack of representation, will be given up to 25 seats, Talabani said. His announcement seemed to meet demands made a day earlier by top Sunni leaders for 27 seats on the 55-member committee.

"We have decided to add about 20 to 25 members from Sunnis in the committee, which will draft the constitution with full rights like other members who were elected by the parliament," Talabani said.

"This will be done very soon and we are discussing to finalize the making of this decision," he added.

But a Sunni legislator on the committee said that although an agreement had been reached on Sunni Arabs joining an expanded and parallel committee, no deal had been struck on their number.

Adnan al-Janabi, one of two Sunni Arabs on the committee, told The Associated Press that Sunni groups have agreed to join the 55 legislators in an expanded body whose decisions would be made by consensus. The decisions would then be referred to the 55-member committee for endorsement before going to the 275-seat National Assembly.

Al-Janabi, who has led contacts with the Sunni Arabs about their representation, said there has been no agreement on the number of representatives to be involved in the process, but added that parliament, in a goodwill gesture, would issue a resolution "recognizing and supporting" the expanded committee.

The agreement on the Sunni Arabs joining an expanded body, rather than the constitutional committee, means that they have dropped demands for voting rights equal to those of the 55 legislators.

Several committee members say the number of the Sunni Arabs on the committee should be equal to that of the Kurds -- 15 -- since each of the two communities account for up to 20 percent of the population. They also believe that expanding the body with a large number of Sunni Arabs could delay the decision-making process when they have only two months to draft the document.

The Shiite-led government had offered 13 extra places for Sunni Arabs from outside the parliament to help the 55-member committee draw up the constitution. No voting rights were offered to the 13.

But on Wednesday, two of Iraq's largest Sunni Arab organizations - - the Iraqi Islamic Party and the Sunni Endowment -- rejected the offer of 13, and instead called for 25 seats with the same voting rights as the 55 lawmakers.

New U.N. special envoy to Iraq, Ashraf Qadhi, said during an earlier news conference with Talabani that the constitution was Iraq's "No. 1 priority."

Sunni Arab support is crucial for Iraq's Shiite- and Kurdish- dominated government, particularly to approve the constitution. The draft charter, which must be ready by mid-August, will collapse if three of Iraq's four predominantly Sunni Arab provinces vote against it in a referendum to be held two months later.

If adopted in October, the constitution will provide the basis for a new general election by Dec. 15.

British Foreign Minister Jack Straw, visiting with a European Union delegation, expressed confidence the deadlines would be met.

The Marines said the 16 Americans and three Iraqis, employed by Zapata Engineering of Charlotte, N.C., sprayed small-arms fire at Iraqi civilians and U.S. forces from their cars in Fallujah on May 28. No one was hurt.

Marine Lt. Col. Dave Lapan said Marines reported seeing gunmen in several late-model trucks fire "near civilian cars" and on military positions.

"Three hours later, another Marine observation post was fired on by gunmen from vehicles matching the description of those involved in the earlier attack," the spokesman said.

U.S. forces said they detained the contractors without incident and held them for three days, but no charges were filed.

The American contractors are believed to have left Iraq, and a Naval Criminal Investigative Service inquiry is under way, the military said.

According to Zapata, its convoy -- which was carrying supplies from Baghdad to Fallujah -- was stopped when spike strips placed in the road flattened their tires.

Company president Manuel Zapata said the only shot fired by his workers was a warning blast after they noticed a vehicle following them.

Some of the workers alleged they were physically abused and humiliated while in military custody.

Mark Schopper, an attorney who said he represents two of the workers who were detained, told The Charlotte Observer they were stripped to their underwear, blindfolded and handled roughly by Marines.

"Marines put their knees on the backs of their necks and ripped off religious medallions," Schopper said. "They asked for attorneys, they asked for Amnesty International, they asked for the American Red Cross. All three requests were denied."